Breakthrough in low loss high frequency carbon nanotube electronics

Press Release

A collaboration between researchers at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute and
the Faculty of Mechatronics of Warsaw University of Technology in Poland reports that low electrical
loss at frequencies of up to 220 GHz are possible in screen printed carbon nanotube – polymer composites.
Producing such low electrical loss materials potentially opens up new types of high frequency
large area electronic devices.

A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a rolled up sheet of graphene that has a diameter of only a few nanometers.
This size is equivalent to thousandths of the diameter of a human hair but despite their small size CNTs
have outstanding properties such as high strength and an ability to carry a very high electrical current.
Building upon previous EPSRC-funded research in carbon nanotube polymer composite electronics, this study,
published recently in the American Institute of Physics journal Applied Physics Letters, shows that CNT composites
have electrical losses of less than 0.3 dB/mm over a wide frequency range. Embedding CNTs in a polymer, in this case PMMA,
allows accurate control of the nanotube content and control over the conductive phase of the composite which was
screen printed into coplanar waveguides to produce structures tens of mm in length. Using a screen printing technology
allows for ease of scalability for production and relaxes many of the constraints found in high end manufacturing techniques.
Possible applications include new types of microwave mixers, phase shifters and antennas.

Dr David Carey from the Advanced Technology Institute of the University of Surrey said:
“The success of the research is to be found by employing the unique high frequency electrical
characterisation facilities at Surrey to explore electrical conduction in large area carbon nanotube based composites.
Understanding what controls the conduction at the nanometer scale in these new materials can lead to the development
of new high frequency carbon nanotube based electronics.”

Professor Ravi Silva, Director of the Advanced Technology Institute at Surrey, said “This research shows the
transformational benefits that can happen of bringing high quality specialised experimental facilities to tackle
some of the key problems in modern nanotechnology and electronics. The research offers the potential for new applications
of carbon nanotubes.”